What do I need to pack when I travel?

>One of our activities today was looking in a suitcase. First we discovered that the suitcase had WHEELS! We talked about why a suitcase might have wheels and why we would use one. Then, I asked ” what do you think is inside my suitcase?” I got answers like toys and dinosaurs. 🙂 Then I opened it and we went piece by piece through it and talked about what we would or would not need to pack if we went on a trip. This was a fun little circle time !

I wanted to tell you about the training I went to last night. As you know we are a quality approved site. For some of you that might just mean safe, clean and reliable. For me it means a lot of planning and intentional placement of materials in the classroom. It means paying attention to the social and emotional needs of the child and of course, making sure they are safe. To give you some examples of the planning that I have to do. I need 2 soft toys in our playspace per child. That means 32 soft toys ! We have puppets, pillows, dolls and many other things that meet this requirement. I need 9 science materials out of 3 of the 4 groups they have listed. I know, you thought I just threw stuff out there every day, right? And.. in addition the materials must be rotated often. There are other things that factor in like how we talk to the children, our communication with parents and the activities we plan. Last night was great. The trainer, Marcy, knows that we are all pretty much veterans so she spent a lot of time telling us what she sees that we are doing right. She was a great encourager and motivator. She gave us the green bracelets that you see in the picture that say – “One Child- One Chance” You know that is the bottom line. A child builds the foundation for his capacity to learn between the ages of 0-5. I have one chance to make a difference and do it right. I have one chance to let him be three and learn in the way that three year olds learn. I have one chance to let a 4 year old learn, the way a four year old learns. That is the biggest thing about a quality place, we teach age appropriately. Sure, they will be ready for kindergarten. They will know their letters and be able to count. They will know their colors. But, they will be able to function with confidence and joy because I havent spent 2 years making them hate school before they even get there. A real “quality” site knows how to make the learning happen in the way it was meant to happen…. naturally .